Tool for replacing sucker-rods



'-E. 'B. HATCH.

TOOL FOR REPLACING SUCKER RODS.

APPLICATION men OCT. 21. 1919.

1,343,821. PatentedJune 15, 1920.

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TOOL FOR REPLACING SUCKER R008 APPLICATION FILED OCT. 27, 19l9- 2SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HWENTOI? ATTORNEYS Patented June 15, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD BENSON HATCH, or TURLEY, OKLAHOMA;

TOOL ron REPLACING SUCK ER-RODS.

To all vlwm it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, EDWARD BENSON HATCH, a citizen of the United States,and

a a resident of Turley, in the county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tools,

for Replacing Sucker-Rods, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is an improved tool for use in replacing sucker rods inoil wells.

It has heretofore been customary, in replacing sucker rods in oil wells,to allow the weight of the rods to be set upon the tubing each timean'additional rod is screwed in place on the string, the entire weightof the string of rods coming upon the rod elevator. In order to removethis elevator, to allow the rods to'be lowered down into the tubing, thestring of rods must be raised by means of the pulling machinecustomarily used. This operation of raising the rods requires theservices of a team of horses or of two men to lift the. weight of thestring every time a new rod is screwed on. This extra labor in additionto consuming a great deal of time, is fraught with danger to the menoperating'the pulling machine,

for it oftentimes happens that the brakeman gets caught in the crank ,ofthe pulling machine by which he raises the rods, and

once caught in this manner, with the weight of several tons on the line,he iseither killed or crippled for life. 7 l I It is the object of myinvention to correct these evils by providing a tool by the use of whichthe dangerous operation of liftingthe rodsofl' of the elevator will bedone away with, and which will make itimpossible 'forrods to get awayfrom the brakeman by providing a check for the rods, in a case the lineshould break which willprevent the rods from falling farther than thetubing nipple.

With this and other objects in view which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the construc-Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J n 15, 192(1 Applicationfiled October 27, 1919. Serial No. 333,737. 9 9

closing the correlative positions of the elements of the tool. 9 o

Fig. 3 represents a vertical sectional view taken at right angles toFig. l. I

F1g. 4: represents a view inperspective of the bar, and

Fig. 5 represents a similar view of the wrench. Referring moreparticularly to the drawings, 5 indicates the uppermost section of thewell casings, and 6 indicates one of the sections of, the string ofsucker rods. The tool comprises three elements, viz., the socket plate,indicated at 7, the bar, indicated at 8, and the wrench indicated at 9.

The socket plate includes a lower annular member 10, interiorly threadedto fit the threaded nipple 11 of the casing 5, and an uppermember 12,bolted to the lower mem her as at 13, and having a central cut awayportion conforming in shape to the enlarged head 14 of the bar 8. .In'operation this headed end of the bar fits in the socketafforded by theupper member and rests on of the bolts 13, provides a lug ilfi (see Fig.

2) which overhangs one corner of the socket and under which the headedend of the bar 8 engages, whereby to. prevent accidental loss orremovalof the bar from the cover plate.

The. headed end of the bar is provided.

withua slot 17, of a width substantially coincident ,with the diameterof the sucker rod, and into which the sucker rod fits when the tool isin operation.

The wrench member 9, of the tool, isprovided at one end with a hook 19for fitting the squared portion 20 of the sucker rod,

the opposite end of the wrench being provided with an offset 21 having areduced portion 22 for fitting in a recess 23 in the bar 8, whereby toprevent the wrench, and consequently the sucker rod, from turning.

Before starting to run the rods back into the well. the socket plate isscrewed onto the tubing nipple. The first rod is then started into thetubing, and the bar is then engaged with the socket plate, the head 14fitting in the socket and the sucker rod slidably fitting in the slot 17of the bar. The rod is then lowered in the casing until the enlargedportion of the rod, adjacent the squared portion thereof engages uponthe bar. The weight of the rod now is taken up by the bar. The elevator(not shown) is now free to be removed and hooked onto the next section.The operator then engages the wrench 9 with the squared portion of therod and rests the offset 22 into the recess 28 of the bar. Thus the rodis held against turning while the next section 24 (see Fig. l) of thesucker rod is screwed onto the section already in the casing. After thenext section (24:) has been screwed on and is ready to be lowered, theoperator removes the wrench and engages it in any suitable manner on thestud 25 provided on the bar. The wrench is thus supported, while not inuse, in a convenient position to be handy to the operator. I

After the wrench has been removed the bar is lifted out of the socketplate while the brakeman holds the brake of the pulling machine. Therods are then lowered, and as soon as the enlarged connecting jointbetween the rods has passed below the top of the tubing, the bar isreplaced so as to catch the upper end of the rod section 24 whereby tosupport the rods in the casing while the process is repeated.

A number of advantages accrue to the use of my invention among which maybe enumerated the fact that the tool forms a safety appliance forholding the rods and preventing them from getting away while thesuccessive sections are being screwed on. Heretofore it often happenedthat the rods would slip off the elevator while being screwed on andthus be lost. Furthermore, the process of coupling up and lowering therod sections is expedited, and the danger incident to the work reducedto a minimum.

Although I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I-may desire to make such changes in the construction, combination andarrangement of parts thereof as do not depart from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims. I

I claim:

1. A tool of the class described including a socket plate adapted toremovably fasten to a well casing and having a socket therein; a barhaving a slotted head adapted to removably lit in the socket and toslidably embrace a sucker rod below the enlarged end thereof, a platecarried by the socket plate and having a portion overhanging the socketto prevent accidental removal of the said bar, and a wrench having ahooked end adapted to removably engage the squared portion of the suckerrod and having an offset adapted to engage in a recess in the bar forholding the wrench and consequently the sucker rod against turning.

2. In a tool of the class described the combination of a socket plateadapted to removably fasten to a well casing, a bar having a slottedhead adapted to removably engage in the socket plate and to slidablyembrace a sucker rod, means for preventing accidental removal ofthe saidbar, and a wrench having means for removably engaging the squaredportion of the sucker rod and having means detachably engageable withthe bar whereby the wrench and consequently the sucker rod will be heldagainst turning.

3. A tool of the class described including a socket plate adapted toremovably fasten to a well casing, a bar removably engageable with thesocket plate and adapted to support a sucker rod, and a wrenchengageable with the bar and with the squared portion of the sucker rodfor holding the rod against turning.

4:. A tool of the class described including a bar having means forslidably engaging a sucker rod'below the enlarged end thereof, meanswhereby the bar may be detachably supported on a well casing forsustaining the weight of the sucker rod, and means removably engageablewith the sucker rod and with the bar for preventing turning motion ofthe sucker rod.

5. In a tool of the class described the combination of a means adaptedto be removably interposed between a sucker rod and a well casing forsupporting the weight of the sucker rod, and means removably engageablewith the first said means and with the sucker rod for holding the latteragainst turning.-

EDWARD BENSON HATCH.

